Why are the Arctic Monkeys the most talked about band in Britain? Why have they sold more records in a week than even the legendary - and seminal - Hear'Say could manage? Why are people talking about them on the television, like, all the time?

Are they really that good? We went to Edinburgh to find out...

Itâ€™s freezing outside the Edinburgh Corn Exchange, a fact that has done nothing to cool the ardour of hundreds and hundreds of Arctic Monkeys fans.

But why, readers? Why are the Monkeys the most talked about band in Britain at the moment? Why have they managed to rip the Fastest Selling Debut Album Ever Award from Hearâ€™Sayâ€™s seminal â€˜Popstarsâ€™ effort? Why has their debut album, â€˜Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Notâ€™ caused in excess of 360,000 people to get their cash out in one week?

In a nutshell, we want to answer the simple question: can the Arctic Monkeys live up to the hype?

Usually, when facing big questions such as these, it helps to start off by compiling some practical measurements. For example, we noticed that queues for the bar were approximately 5 metres shorter during the Arctic Monkeysâ€™ set than they were for headliners Maximo Park. Thatâ€™s scientific fact people.

Similarly, the ratio of fans in Arctic Monkeys t-shirts (counting both the official and homemade variety) to Maximo Park t-shirts was a staggering 3 to 1. If ever there were a sign of truly demented dedication, it was to be found in the homemade shirts sported by some of the Arctic Monkeysâ€™ elite â€“ simply a white Top Man tee with a photocopy of the LP cover stapled across the chest. Brilliant!

Monkey Madness 1: â€œThe Arctic Monkeys just speak to me. Iâ€™m unemployed, I havenâ€™t had a shag in ten months, and my hairâ€™s already starting to fall out. I should be thinking about killing myself, but the Monkeys let me know everything is really OK!â€